Division of Financial Services
Travel
Sponsoring agencies might have additional or more specific requirements for Cornell business travel funded by a sponsored award. For example, some State of New York (NYS) awards invoke the Office of the New York State Comptroller’s Travel Manual (PDF).
There are significant differences between Cornell’s travel policy and the NYS travel manual, which only applies when the award specifically invokes it. If you have any questions regarding the NYS travel requirements, please contact Sponsored Financial Services.
Cornell’s standard of 50 miles applies, because it is more restrictive than the 35-mile NYS definition of travel status. If your circumstances do not meet this definition (i.e., you are within 50 miles of the regular worksite), you are not in travel status.
When you are traveling in the proximity of your worksite, normally, neither meals nor lodging are reimbursed.
Mileage cost is reimbursable using either the distance between your home and the alternate worksite or your normal worksite and the alternate worksite, whichever distance is less.
Cornell’s policies do not authorize using per diem for lodging or paying for lodging costs that were not actually incurred (e.g., staying with friends or relatives). So, you must not use the NYS “Unreceipted Method” (Method 1). All overnight travel must use the “Receipted Method” (Method 2).
Receipts are required for lodging, and reimbursable costs under NYS rules are limited to the federal per diem rates for that travel region, not including taxes. The balance of the lodging costs must be charged to non-sponsored funds. See Mileage and Per Diem.
Receipts are not required for meals, which at Cornell are reimbursed at federal per diem rates for the travel region. However, NYS divides the federal per diem rates differently and does not consider lunch to be reimbursable. The table below shows the per diem breakdown.
You can claim per diem for incidentals for all overnight travel. All per diems on the first and last day of travel are subject to reduction in accordance with Cornell’s policy. See Meals.
In the following table, the federal daily rate, minus incidentals, equals the total federal rate for meals. NYS breaks down this meal rate into 20% for breakfast and 80% for dinner. Lunch is not reimbursable on NYS sponsored funds.
| Federal Meals and Incidentals Per Diem Amount | Incidentals Amount | Total Federal Amount for Meals | NYS Breakfast Per Diem |
NYS Dinner Per Diem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $51 | $5 | $46 | $9 | $37 |
| $56 | $5 | $51 | $10 | $41 |
| $59 | $5 | $54 | $11 | $43 |
| $61 | $5 | $56 | $11 | $45 |
| $64 | $5 | $59 | $12 | $47 |
| $66 | $5 | $61 | $12 | $49 |
| $69 | $5 | $64 | $13 | $51 |
| $71 | $5 | $66 | $13 | $53 |
| $74 | $5 | $69 | $14 | $55 |
| $76 | $5 | $71 | $14 | $57 |
| $79 | $5 | $74 | $15 | $59 |
For example, if Buffalo's current per diem rates are $104 for lodging and $64 for meals and incidentals, the maximum lodging charge is $104 plus tax per night. Subtracting the fixed allowance of $5 for incidentals from the $64 rate leaves $59 for meals, or $12 for breakfast and $47 for dinner.
International travel uses a similar practice of lodging capped at the federal rate, providing incidental expenses and allocating the meal per diem with 20% for breakfast and 80% for dinner.
If travel begins at least one hour before a normal workday, you can claim breakfast with receipts up to the applicable federal per diem, apportioned using the NYS method above.
If travel ends at least two hours after a normal workday, you can claim dinner with receipts up to the applicable federal per diem, apportioned using the NYS method above.
Without receipts, the limit is $5 for breakfast and $12 for dinner.
As with overnight travel, you cannot make a claim for lunch, which the state considers to be a personal expense.
